The global Diagnostic ECG Market is estimated to reach $5,435 million by 2020 at a high compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecast period. The factors driving this market include the increasing geriatric population, rising incidences of lifestyle diseases, technological advancements in diagnostic ECG devices, and high growth rate in developing countries. The factors restraining this market include the unstable reimbursement regulations, economic instability, and market saturation in the developed countries. Projections from Center for Disease Control and Prevention highlight that about 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year—that's 1 in every 4 deaths. Coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity. More than 50% of people dying from heart disease pass away in an emergency department or prior to reaching a hospital.
To address such issues, the coordination of personnel, equipment, expert opinion, pre-hospital treatment, and capacity of health centers involved in responding in a timely manner presents a number of difficulties not only during emergencies but also towards daily healthcare. The long turnaround times for a routine check-up encourages people to postpone their cardiac check-up until later, aggravating the symptoms further. Emergency medical services (EMS) systems lacking sufficient resources even for day-to-day operations are overwhelmed in the event of a large-scale disaster. It's even harder on children as they react differently to emergencies than do adults because of anatomical, physiological, developmental, and emotional differences. Heart-rate and electrocardiograms (ECG) are the two most standard references to diagnose a patient during an emergency, pre-hospitalization, or post-hospitalization. Conventional ECG techniques require the physical presence of the patient in a hospital where the patient is assisted by an expert medical professional such as a nurse or para-medical staff. The necessity of using a dedicated medical facility and professional assistance consumes space, time, and resources (e.g., personnel resources) of the medical care provider. In addition, prolonged usage of conventional ECG methods and systems can cause skin irritation, discomfort, and rashes.
Though other existing bio-medical imaging methods, such as electromagnetic-based monitoring systems, laser-based monitoring systems, and image-based monitoring systems, have been demonstrated with good results and accuracy, they are sensitive to perspiration, muscle twitching, and distance from the receiver. Further, such systems are expensive to set-up and maintain when used alone in remote healthcare centers, portable mobile units, or in specialty homes.